Marilyn Manson drops lawsuit against ex Evan Rachel Wood

Marilyn Manson has agreed to drop a lawsuit against his ex, actress Evan Rachel Wood, and will also pay her attorney's fees. Manson and Wood were formerly engaged. Wood, along with other women had accused Manson, whose legal name is Brian Warner, of sexual misconduct. In a 2022 lawsuit, Manson had claimed Wood had fabricated public allegations that he sexually and physically abused her during their relationship and encouraged other women to fabricate their own allegations.

18 months back, a Los Angeles County judge threw out much of the allegations made in the lawsuit. 

On Tuesday, his attorney Howard King said, "After four years of fighting a battle where he was able to tell the truth, Brian is pleased to dismiss his still-pending claims and appeal in order to close the door on this chapter of his life." 

Marilyn had been appealing the judge's decision, but his attorneys reached out to Wood's seeking a settlement in the spring. Wood's attorneys said Tuesday that she rejected requests that the terms be kept confidential.

Manson “filed a lawsuit against Ms. Wood as a publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career,” Wood’s lawyer Michael J. Kump said in a statement. “But his attempt to silence and intimidate Ms. Wood failed.”

Marilyn agreed to pay nearly $327,000 in attorney fees for Wood.

The settlement comes nearly four years into a criminal investigation of the 55-year-old Manson involving multiple women that remains unresolved. Outgoing LA County District Attorney George Gascón said in October that his office's sex crimes division had just discovered new evidence and that a decision on whether to file charges would be made when the picture was more complete.

The women involved in the criminal case have not been identified, but “Game of Thrones” actor Esme Bianco has said she was among them, and criticised the district attorney for taking so long to investigate. Bianco settled her own lawsuit against Manson last year.

Marilyn has denied engaging in any non-consensual sexual acts.

In 2017, with the #MeToo movement gaining momentum, Wood said publicly that she had been raped and abused, and gave testimony on the subject to a Congressional committee in 2018, but did not name anyone in either instance.

Then in a 2020 Instagram post, Wood said it was Marilyn who had “horrifically abused me for years.” The two revealed they were a couple in 2007, and were briefly engaged in 2010 before breaking up.

Marilyn's original lawsuit alleged that Wood and another woman, Ashley Gore, also known as Illma Gore in court papers, defamed him, intentionally caused him emotional distress and derailed his career in music, TV and film. It says they used false pretenses, including a phony letter from the FBI, to convince other women to come forward with sexual abuse allegations and coached them on what to say. The suit said Wood had only glowing things to say about Manson during their relationship.

(With inputs from agencies)